


Red Rain Drops

by SquiddlesScribbles



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 23:08:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12641184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquiddlesScribbles/pseuds/SquiddlesScribbles
Summary: As rain pounds the earth, inside Ruby Rose has a battle with her emotions.





	Red Rain Drops

A rain like no other poured down from the heavens, flooding streets and creating leaks. Inside homes, residents curled up by the fireplace, or in their blankets snug with their partners and relished in a day off from their usual activities. Books long forgotten were opened, tea was made, and old stories were swapped. Overall, it was a jovial occurrence for most. 

Though, as the thunder boomed and lightning struck, a certain Ruby Rose sat by the window and felt her chest grow heavier with each drop of rain which hit the window. Her weapons and armor lay long discarded on the other side of the room, as well as her blankets left untouched and the fireplace unlit. A draft blew through the small room and her small body was wracked with shivers, but she did not move. Her eyes were heavy but she did not allow herself to close them for long, as was indicated with the dark bags under her eyes. 

The petite huntress took this time to reflect over her past years, particularly the years in which tragedy struck. It was one of those nights, a night which deepened the burden of a hardened soul. A heavy, broken soul. The fall of Beacon weighed particularly on this huntress’s mind and didn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon. Her mind flashed back on that day, which started out as good as any other…

_ Ruby bounced into the headmaster’s office, a cheeky grin on her face which was lit in high spirits. She pranced her way over to Ozpin’s desk and planted her but on top of it. “Did you see our win yesterday, Oz?” She asked, her smile only getting brighter as his head turned up so he could meet her eyes.  _

_ “Yes, of course. You did well, though I have to say you’re very lucky to have been in the team round and not the singles.” Oz said with an amused smirk.  _

_ “What’s that supposed to mean?” Ruby whined, drawing out the ‘e’ sound in “mean”.  _

_ “Well, you were almost taken out due to your lack of observance in the beginning. Had it not been for Weiss, you would have been eliminated.” He lectured, the amusement he was feeling only growing as Ruby’s deflated.  _

_ “Oh, why can’t you just say you’re proud of me!” Ruby pouted, crossing her arms and turning so her back faced him.  _

_ Ozpin placed his hands on her waist and pulled her onto his lap, making her giggle. He attached his lips to her neck, giving her little kisses from her collarbone up to her ear. After lightly nipping at her earlobe, he whispered in her ear, “I’m proud of you, Ruby.”  _

_ The redhead could feel her insides melt at his words and actions and her legs pressed together as her core throbbed. He chuckled, and nuzzled his head in the crook of her neck, nibbling on her shoulder. “I’ll always be very proud of you, my little nymph.” Ruby giggled and leaned her head back so she could look at his profile.  _

_ “Promise you’ll stay forever?” Ruby whispered, a sad smile gracing her pink lips.  _

_ “I promise.” Ozpin assured, turning his head to give her a kiss on the cheek.  _

Ruby was snapped out of her flashback as the door on the far side of the room creaked open, and someone stepped in just as lightning flashed to light up their features for a split second. 

“Dad,” Ruby sighed, turned back to look out the window. For a moment, she saw her own reflection in the glass and grimace. She was paler than usual, lack of sunlight turning her a shade akin to the snow that would be falling soon. Her silver eyes were dark, looking nearly black, and her eyes were bloodshot. Chapped lips and dark circles added to her obviously under-maintained look. In short, it was quite obvious to anyone with eyes that she wasn’t feeling okay, or anywhere near okay.

“Hey, kiddo…” Tai said, his voice sounding awkward as if he had no idea what he was stepping into. He stepped further into the room, not bothering to turn on the light as he knew Ruby would have just asked him to turn it back off. He had watched as his daughter’s self-care turned into a downward spiral since she had gotten home, but he had no idea how to help her. He thought leaving her alone would help, but that has gotten him nowhere fast. Lightning flashed again, outlining Ruby’s silhouette in the darkened room.

Ruby’s overall demeanor and the way she was handling her feelings reminded Tai too much of Qrow, and it was starting to scare him. Luckily, the redhead hadn’t turned to the bottle just yet, but Tai knew if left alone to boil much longer she was sure to repeat the same mistakes of his former teammate. 

An awkward silence hung in the air, and Tai wasn’t sure what to do next. How could one help someone who felt as though they lost everything? Show them that all was not for naught? There was hope for a better future? Ruby wouldn’t listen, she was already too far gone. There was nothing left of his little bright-eyed silver warrior, except an old and scarred shell. Tai was wrong, Ruby seemed almost worst than Qrow. Qrow would take to his bottle, pass out, and then that was it. Of course, Tai knew there was more to that, that the other man’s feelings were just to be suppressed and only to show themselves when tragedy struck again. But Qrow still  _ felt  _ something, he lashed out when he felt anger, and cried when his sorrow was too great. All poor Ruby could do was sit, and stare. She refused to eat, drink, move. Her guilt was killing her. 

Tai cleared his throat, prompting Ruby to turn and look at him again. “Ruby, I think…” He started to go the passive route again but stopped. He needed to make Ruby  _ see _ . “Well, you need to let go of him. You’re destroying yourself, and you know he would be upset if he could see you right now.” Taiyang looked up in the middle of his little lecture, to find Ruby still staring at him, a tear making its descent down her gaunt cheek. Her face scrunched up with the pressure of trying to keep her other tears at bay, but her efforts were futile as more tears fell from her silver eyes. It hurt her father to see her like this, but he knew that it was necessary. 

“Don’t you think I know that?” Ruby whispered, her voice hoarse from lack of use. Her bottom lip wobbled as she desperately tried to keep what was left of her voice steady. Her emotions were a waterfall, crashing through her without stopping or thought of what it would do to her. “Don’t you think I know how upset O-O-Oz-” Ruby had to stop, just the mere thought of his name wracked her body with sobs. Ruby pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs and burying her head in her knees as her heart sung out its sorrow. Rain pounded the roof as the crescendo of her mournful keen got worse. Tai moved to wrap his arms around his crying daughter, but she shoved him away. 

“Ruby, please. Stop beating yourself up about it! There’s nothing you could have done! If you had gone to try to save him, you’d be dead too.” Taiyang stated, quite bluntly. 

Ruby went deathly silent, her sobs stopping all at once as she turned to look up at him. She sniffled one last time before speaking. “I wish I had died in there with him.” She said, just as blunt. 

Tai stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders, lifting her up. “Don’t say that, Ruby Rose. Don’t disregard the opportunities you have. You’re alive yet you act like you’re dead. You’re alive, while others are not and what have you to show for it? Dead eyes, a thinned face, protruding bones, and for what! Because you feel sorry for yourself for living while your lover perished? You should be glad you’re alive, you should be thinking about how Ozpin must feel up there watching his love dwindle away thinking about him. You’re acting really selfish right now, Ruby Rose, and I will not stand for it anymore.” While he did not raise a hand to her, his words were still delivered like a stinging slap to the face. Ruby’s eyes were wide as she stared up at his lilac eyes which coarsed with a thousand emotions at once. Ruby nodded slowly, and he set her back down. “I only want what’s best for you, Rubes. Wallowing in self-pity is not what you deserve. You deserve to be out there, fighting for revenge.” His voice was much softer now, his hand rubbing her back and feeling her vertebrae sticking out. 

“I understand…” She whispered, arms reaching out for that previously unaccepted hug. “I’m sorry, dad…” Tai swooped down to hug her tightly, not letting go for fear of her withering away. Her skin was freezing to the touch, and he moved to pick her up.

“Let’s get you warmed up, okay kiddo?” He said, moving out of the room to place her in front of a fireplace. He wrapped her up in a soft and thick blanket, then grabbed two mugs of tea before settling down beside her.

And as the fireplace crackled away, the rain outside slowly but surely let up and the sun shone through the silver clouds once again.

**Author's Note:**

> The only explanation I have for this is "I'm sad and want others to be sad too". I probably definitely could have made this a lot longer but really just wanted to wrap it up so I could get it off my mind.   
> Sorry about not updating Scattered Rose Petals in like a month, I've been working on the chapter but it's been a little difficult with my motivation dropping. Ardianna's been helping me out with that quite a bit, but yeah... It should be done within the next week or so, probably.


End file.
